Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Urbania ❯ Epilogue: Risen from the Ashes of Devastation ( Chapter 21 )

"Bang, Bang! You're dead!"

"No fair! I hit base!"

"No you didn't!"

"Yes, I did!"

"I hate you!"

"You're a sore loser!"

"You both are being onnoxious!"

"The word is obnoxious, and I agree. You two stop being power pigs."

"Shut up. You just think you know everything because you learned one big word."

"Who invited you? Who invited any of you three? This is between me and my sister!"

"You were fighting!"

"We always fight."

"Shut up. I'll handle this."

"You're not mom!"

"I'm closer to mom than you are."

"No you're not!"

"Yeah, you're really not."

"Both of you shut up."

"Who asked you?"

"What is going on here?" A grown-up voice boomed its demand. The children stopped and looked over several sets of small shoulders. Heero crossed his arms and glared down on the young ones as if they had committed some great treason and were due to pay with their lives. His looked wasn't softened with his khaki pants and button-down shirt.

"Well?" he demanded again. The two little girls shared a mutual gulp. The eldest girl puffed out her chest and crunched together her brows over her Prussian eyes.

"Me and Fuuko were playing, and then these guys came and ruined my hostage, Daddy!"

Heero smirked slightly and shook his head. "Now boys," he started, cracking his knuckles and stepping slowly their way, "I don't want to have to call your parents. But I'll have to if this keeps up. And I know your dad won't be happy with the example you've been setting for your little brothers, Yamcha."

Little Yamcha, the eldest of all the children with a whole eight years under his belt, held his ground as best he could while his two little brothers scurried behind him and watched Heero from safely behind his back. Heero's eldest daughter Renita stuck her tongue out Yamcha, crossed her arms and turned up her nose at him. Fuuko picked herself up and attached to her father's leg with one hand and reached up with the other, a simple request for the warmth of Heero's arms. Unable to resist the charms of his own five-year-old flesh and blood, he scooped her into his arms, and her little legs clamped onto the side of his rib cage. She knotted her sweet hands around the opposite side of Heero's neck and hid shyly in his shirt collar. Heero patted her gently on her jean-clad thigh.

"Are you staying out here with the boys, Renita?"

Renita relaxed her annoyed chagrin and loosened, but didn't drop, her arms. "I guess." She shot a look at Yamcha to reinforce her father's and stomped off to another part of the front yard. Yamcha smiled nervously, shuffling off the side with his brothers clasped onto him. Heero's smirk grew as they finally turned their immature backs to properly pursue Renita. Fuuko pecked Heero on the cheek and snuggled deeper into his shirt. Heero looked warmly at his Fuuko and walked carefully in the house with his most recent precious package.

Renita watched her daddy and little sister escape into the house while she was forced to stay outside with her irritating cousins. She looked hard at Yamcha.

"What?" he groaned.

"You stupid boys almost got me in trouble. Stop being such idiots!"

"You almost got yourself and all of us in trouble, is what you mean, We Need A!"

"Don't call me that, Yam-and-Marshmallows!"

Yamcha growled something and crossed his arms. His second youngest brother tugged gently at his pants.

"I'm hungry. I want to go home."

"Sissy! You just don't want to be around when Fuuko comes back cuz you think she likes you!"

"Not true!"

"Yamcha," Renita interrupted, "really, leave Recca alone!"

"It's not my fault he's a sissy!"

"Yamcha!" came the most dread voice in the universe-the `mom just caught you doing something you're not supposed to.' He looked slowly around to confirm what his ears were trying to endorse.

Surely enough, both of his parents had heard his less-than-kind comment about his younger brother. His father gave a partial smirk and looked the other way while his mother stood with her arms crossed, clearly annoyed. But annoyed as she was, she was their beautiful blonde mother in a white sundress and classy matching hat and pumps.

"Yamcha, don't say such mean things about your little brother."

"Sorry, mom."

"No, he's not," Recca piped up, "He was being mean to me and he wasn't sorry then, neither!"

"Yeah, I seed him, too!" the youngest added.

"You guys are both traitors!"

"I haven't traded nothing!" they both cried. Their father lifted Recca and the much smaller Yuli into both of his arms.

"You boys are a mess," he remarked. Recca threw his arms around his father, and Yuli copied him. Their father smiled proudly and carried them to the door of the quaint house whose yard they played in. Yamcha's mother hugged him from behind.

"You having fun, lil' man?" she asked with an affectionate poke to his cheek.

"We sure are," Renita answered for him with a huge fake smile, "Cousin Yamcha just gets carried away sometimes. That's all."

"Is that so?" his mother leaned over in an attempt to see his face. "Mr. Yamcha?"

"That's about it, mom." He said quietly.

"Hm." She smiled proudly over her son, a smile Renita recognized from when her father saw her drawings or when she brought back a good grade from school. I'm so much smarter than dumb old Cousin Yamcha, she thought. "Well, you two can stay out here and play if you want to, but I'm going to see Mrs. Relena Yuy now."

"I'll come," Renita volunteered, hooking her hand in Yamcha's mother's. "Coming, Yamcha?"

"Come on, honey." His mother coerced.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, yeah." He walked ahead so he wouldn't have to hold hands. Renita led them in with a gentle pull to her auntie's arm.

"Mom!" she called once they got in, "Mom?"

Relena graced around a corner and entered the foyer. She wore a lavender skirt and pale pink top. Her pumps and hair ribbon were white. She smiled broadly from under a perfect, thin layer of make-up.

"Serena!" she shuffled over in her pumps to embrace her friend.

"I know Relena, it's only been two weeks since I've last seen you, but I missed you terribly, too."

"Gosh, you girls sure do get lonely fast." Yamcha commented.

Relena and Serena giggled heartily, and Renita giggled with them.

"By the way, Miss Renita," Serena said, squatting down, "I see you're growing on me. You're definitely taller than the last time I saw you."

"Really?" Renita asked excitedly, standing up as straight as she could. Yamcha rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yes, definitely," Serena took her hat off and every thing, holding it placidly in front of her. "And of course you're so pretty."

Renita giggled, hiding the lower half of her face with tiny fists. Serena and Relena chuckled gently along with her. Yamcha rolled his eyes and smirked like his father. Serena rose, smoothing Renita's head of unruly chocolate hair and faced Relena.

"Where did that man go with my other two little guys?"

"I'm assuming you're talking about your husband Ryo."

"I am."

"This way." Relena nodded in the direction of the living room, taking a step only to be stopped by Renita.

"Mommy will you carry me?"

Relena sighed and lifted Renita onto her side. "It would be fine if this was Fuuko, but you're getting big, honey."

"I know. Auntie Serena told me." She kissed her mommy's cheek. Relena kissed her back. Serena looked at her eldest little boy.

"Yamcha Sanada, would you do me the honor of escorting me to yond living room?"

"Uh, sure mom." He said laxly, extending his arm for her to hold like she did his dad's. She took hold of it and he followed after Renita and Relena.

Heero was in his recliner, leaning in Ryo's direction on the couch, both conversing over a Budweiser. Ryo laughed at something Heero said before the two women strolled into the room. Fuuko was in the middle of the floor with Recca, playing "Ura-buto-satsujin" with a variety of Mortal Kombat action figures. Fuuko was Kitana and Recca was Liu Kang.

"Hi-ya!" Recca cried, practically throwing Little Liu on Kitana. Fuuko lost her grip on the feminine figure and dropped her.

"No fair!"

"Liu Kang is the best!"

"He is not! He's a dork!"

It went back and forth for a few minutes, Ryo and Heero poking unbeknownst fun at them, and Serena and Relena trying their best to ignore the insanity. Relena put Renita down and sat on the arm of Heero's chair. He looked away from Ryo to peck Relena on her cheek. Serena sat by Ryo, laying her head on his shoulder. The four looked at each other and smiled.

"What an eight years this has been." Ryo commented absentmindedly. Serena nodded elusively.

"Things have certainly changed for the better," Serena added, pressing a small smile on her face. "I'm glad that the people of the neighboring cities lent such a huge hand."

"If they hadn't," Relena said, "I'm positive we wouldn't be just sitting here, just sitting around talking and laughing. But it's not like we didn't give our share of sweat and blood."

"Especially blood," Heero muttered, earning a little smack on the back of the neck from Relena. He took it with a shrug. "It's the truth."

"But not a truth the kids are ready to hear about, not yet." Serena added.

"They won't be able to tell the difference now. Their ears are safe."

Yamcha's ears perked up, but he didn't ask a question that was making him itch with curiosity. Yamcha looked at Renita to see what she was doing. She was looking pensively at her father, seemingly intrigued, too, by what Heero had said. Recca and Fuuko continued their make-shift war between their plastic annexations and Yuli was falling asleep next to Ryo.

"Anyway," Ryo switched subjects with a swipe of his hand, as if shooing away a fly (a subtle gesture Relena picked up on, and decided it was Serena rubbing off on him), "When was the last time you saw your comrades, Guard?"

"Hm," Heero looked down with a thoughtful smile. "Duo whizzed through town a couple of weeks ago. He just stayed for a few hours. He told me that he and Hilde were separated."

"Oh, no," Serena sulked.

"There's more: he went on to say that he was tired of all this crap that revolved around him and these other women he was seeing in the community, and he was going to ask Hilde to remarry him."

"Aw," Renita cooed, "Uncle Duo's getting married again to Auntie Hilde?"

"That's right. Which reminds me, he's got a kid, Rocky, short for Richard Laurence Maxwell."

"Awesome," Serena said quietly, giving Ryo's arm a happy tug. Ryo nodded in approval.

"Let's see: Trowa's doing all right. He and Midii aren't married, and say they aren't getting married, but they're still together. I talked to him last week."

"To each his own." Relena agreed, standing up. "Would anybody like anything to drink?"

"Kool-aid!" cried all the youngest children. Renita and Yamcha both asked for soda, then called each other copy-cats. Heero and Ryo were still working on their beers. Serena asked for just whatever Relena was getting for herself. The children were pacified with their Kool-Aid and soda, and Serena given a glass of green tea. Heero continued on with the status of Master Wildfire's former guards.

"Quatre and Dorothy actually moved to Arabia-"

"And he's all over the news now." Serena finished.

"Yeah," Ryo picked up, "We heard about old Quatre. Struck one hell of an oil mine near his granddad's place. I must admit I'm impressed."

"Me, too." Heero said. "He promised to have a huge reunion of Master Wildfire's Community when he can get all the stock and what not settled."

"Won't that be something?" Serena said with a smile.

Heero nodded. "Now, I have no idea how Wufei and Sally are doing. They haven't called, written, faxed or anything since Destiny Day. Nobody else seems to know how or where they are, either."

"Oh," Relena interrupted, "no, no, wait, I was waiting till we got Ryo and Serena here to tell you, Heero. Sally called me yesterday at the office. She and Wufei moved to China and adopted a little girl named Marina. And now Wufei is a karate teacher who's actually gained a lot of attention from prestigious schools and patrons of the martial arts, and Sally is one of the Heads of security for the president."

"Whoa." Serena sighed, eyes clearly surprised, "they've done well."

"I'll say," Heero and Ryo muttered.

"I guess we can assume he's all over the Chinese news, eh?" Relena offered with a smile. The others nodded frankly. Relena looked at her watch.

"Ryo, Serena, it's kinda late and you guys are already here, so why don't you just hang around and have dinner with us?"

"Oh, yeah," Heero agreed, "You guys stay. We always have twelve tons of leftovers anyway. You guys could help us polish them off."

Ryo and Serena looked at each other. Serena smiled and nodded.

"Great. I'll go set the table." Relena said, heading for the kitchen.

"Hey, let me help." Serena left Ryo's side and hustled into the kitchen. Ryo and Heero rounded up the kids and led them to the bathroom down the hall.

The adults were engaged in their normal boring after-dinner chat, so Yamcha exited to Renita's room where he found her sitting plaintively on her bay window, watching the stars. He cleared his throat, and she looked at him, unalarmed. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down. He felt his ears and cheeks dot with pinkish bits. He continued to look down to hide his face in the dim light project from a ballerina lamp in the far corner of the room. She gave him an unseen acknowledgement and looked back out the window.

"So," Yamcha began, looking up as his redness began to recede, "What're you doin' in here?" He sounded as if he were referring to the fact that Fuuko had taken Recca and Yuli to her room, and the two of them should have conformed. Renita shrugged.

"Nothin', just thinking about what my daddy said."

"About blood?"

"Yeah. Kinda." She scooted over on the seat and patted the space next to her. "Sit down."

Yamcha placed himself in the chair at her miniature version of her mother's desk.

"No, silly, by me."

"Oh."

He lifted himself up and stepped around her pink bed to her window and hoisted up to her side.

"Whaddya guess my daddy was talking about? I mean, mommy got mad when he said something about blood, and he said he didn't say something about blood and that our little ears were safe. What was he talking about?"

"Hell if I know."

"Yamcha! Don't use bad words!"

"That's what my dad says when mom asks him how to cook something."

Renita shook her head. "Don't use bad words in my room."

"Fine, sorry. What won't we be able to tell the difference of?"

"What?"

"That's what Uncle Heero said. We won't be able to tell the difference between something. What do you think it is?"

"I don't know."

Renita looked away from Yamcha back out the window.

"What about Destiny Day?"

She returned her look into his eyes. "What is what?"

"Destiny Day. Sometimes, late at night, I hear my mom and dad talking about Destiny Day. You know, the war of Destiny Day?"

"How do you know about that?" Renita looked a mixture of wonder and bewilderment.

"I told you. Late at night, when mom and dad talk about grown-up stuff. They talk about the war of Destiny Day."

"Do they ever say the name Patricia?"

"Yeah!"

"Weird."

"Yeah."

The two paused again, and looked out into the night. The moon was a partial crescent hung shyly among the stars. It was the only monstrous-sized star. Yamcha stole an eye-motioned glance at Renita, whose undivided attention was on the sky.

"I wonder what it all means," She said suddenly, "I mean, one time I asked my mommy about this Destiny Day thing, but she got really sad and said she couldn't tell me now, but she would when I got married."

"Why then?"

"I don't know. All I know is mommy loves being married. She says when I find a man like daddy that loves me more than anything else in the world, then she'll tell me about Destiny Day."

"Why then?"

"I don't know."

Yamcha looked down at the front lawn, a bluish-green mass of earthen hair surrounded by the fence that divided it from the pavement. He looked back at Renita.

"Maybe it was about when your parents had a fight."

"Maybe. Or maybe it's about a big fight between a whole bunch of people. A whole bunch of people's destiny?"

"Hmm," he hummed. "Destiny Day…"

"Hey," she commanded with a smile. "When we get to high school, we'll find out all about it, won't we?"

"Yeah, then mom and dad will have to tell us what happened, right?"

"I guess so."

The son of Master Wildfire and the Healing Protector and the daughter of The Guard of Master Wildfire and The Greatest Liberator sat there on the bay window seat, watching the stars fading glimmer through the night, pondering the past.